By Otto Proctor, News Subeditor
Epigram was awarded Best Publication among other successes at the national awards night of the UK's largest student media association.
In addition to the headline award of Best Publication, the Newspaper enjoyed various other successes – scooping several individual, section and project awards – cementing its national reputation.
The Student Publication Association (SPA) is a charity organisation that aims to support, train and showcase the work of student journalists, representing over 230 student publications.
The UK’s largest student media association held its Annual National Awards from 4 to 6 April 2025 in Exeter. Over 1,300 entries were judged by a range of 'top editors and journalists' from organisations such as BBC News, The Guardian and The Times.
Epigram was nominated for 5 awards, including Best Publication, Best Design (Newspaper), Best Overall Digital Media, Best Project or Initiative and Best Science Publication or Section.
Epigram’s Annie McNamee (Co-Editor-In-Chief), Benji Chapman (Music Editor) and Sofia Lambis (News Investigations Editor) were nominated for the Billy Dowling-Reid award for Outstanding Commitment, Best Culture Writer and Rising Star (Best Newcomer) awards respectively.
Epigram's standout success was winning the Best Publication award. Co-Deputy-Editor, Will Standring, called the success 'a testament to the whole team's hard work.'
McNamee won the Billy Dowling-Reid award for Outstanding Commitment. Fintan Hogan, Graduate Trainee at The Times and previous winner of the award, sung Annie's praises. Hogan commended her work with Epigram's Design team to overhaul the online and print design and her work paving the way for greater engagement with writers at the University of Bristol, among other efforts that encompassed, according to Hogan, 'a little bit... of everything.'
Epigram’s Break the Mould campaign was rewarded for garnering attention and support from various organisations and individuals, winning the award for Best Project or Initiative.
The campaign was praised for its 'forward-thinking,' incorporating a vitally important issue into a campaign that 'has the potential for real world change' for Epigram's readers.
Epigram’s SciTech section snatched the award for Best Science Publication or Section, despite strong competition from dedicated science and technology publications. Special commendations to the SciTech team – Corin Hadley, Miles Gilroy and James Lewis!
When asked about SciTech’s journey from potentially being dropped as a section in 2024 to national recognition in 2025, Hadley, Section Editor of SciTech, said:
‘I think it was hard to see how SciTech fit into the paper. We made a really massive effort to create content that people could engage with and that held some relevance to their lives - hence our focus on visuals and storytelling. It’s been so exciting working with people who were so dialled into the idea of using science as a tool for inclusion, rather than exclusion.’
Lambis was also highly commended for the Rising Star award, receiving praise for her role in 'expand[ing] the audience and presence' of Epigram by Marine Saint of the Financial Times (and formerly Deputy Editor of Epigram). The future of Epigram is bright!
Epigram was previously awarded Best Publication in the South West at the SPA Awards 2024, as well as commendations for articles by Amelia Jacob and Milan Perera.
Interested in writing for this year's ‘Best Publication’? Click this link to see how to get involved! Applications for next year's Senior Team will open soon.
